Forgotten ally? China's unsung role in World War II

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

The United States and China were allies during World War II and more than 250,000 Americans served in what was known as the "China-Burma-India" theater. Here, a U.S. sergeant and a lieutenant, both members of the Y-Force Operations Staff, demonstrate methods of disarming the enemy with a bayonet to Chinese soldiers.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

September 30, 1945 – Marine Corporal Richard W. Miller bargains with a Chinese man for a lift in his rickshaw on September 30, 1945. This image was among 23,000 discovered by Chinese historian Zhang Dongpan in 2006 in the U.S. National Archives and Records Office.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

Zhang used the images for an exhibition that tells the often forgotten role of U.S. and Chinese cooperation in World War II. Here, a British and Chinese soldier exchange greetings when the Chinese and British troops met on the Mandalay Road, Burma on 30 March 1945.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

Zhang worked with Retired Army Col. John Easterbrook to bring the photo exhibition to the United States, where many Americans were surprised to learn of of the U.S. effort against Japan in China, Easterbrook says. Here, a Chinese commando being trained as a paratrooper by American officers makes his first jump in Kunming, southwest China.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

Chinese soldiers were trained by U.S. officers to use incendiary devices called "flamethrowers" seen here during the three-month siege of the ancient walled city of Tengchung, a Japanese stronghold. The American effort is often forgotten in China too. Following the end of the war, civil war broke out, and with the victory of the Communists all mention of American cooperation was stricken from the record.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

China was the first country to enter what would become World War II. On July 7, 1937, a clash between Chinese and Japanese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge, just outside Beijing, led to all-out war. Here, a Chinese manned tank moves south along the Burma Road toward Lashio, Burma on February 24, 1945

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

March 5, 1945 – Some 14 million Chinese died and up to 100 million became refugees during the eight years of conflict with Japan from 1937 to 1945.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

September 13, 1943 – An American soldier waves good luck to a U.S. Army Air Force Liberator bomber as it crosses the shark-nosed bows of U.S. P-40 fighter planes at an advanced U.S. base in China.

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An artist of the China Air Task Force Fighter Command of the United States Army Air Force puts the finishing touches on the insignia of a U.S. plane. The pilots were known as "Flying Tigers."

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

March 1, 1945 – Historian Rana Mitter says that China could not have won the war on its own but held down huge numbers of Japanese troops on its territory. He says the defeat of Japan was dependent on western, and in particular American finance, military support and supplies.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

March 2, 1945 – But acknowledging these realities does not mean denying that China's contributions were also very important to the war effort, Mitter adds. Here, a convoy rider gives a Chinese child a ride in the Tengchun Cutoff, China.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

Cairo, Egypt, 1943 – American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek meet with other military leaders at the Cairo Conference. The conference addressed issues related to Allied policy against Japan during World War II, and made decisions about the future of Asia.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

August 22, 1945 – A photo of the leaflets declaring the Japanese surrender that were air dropped over occupied areas of China.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

China is embracing much of its war history that remained taboo during the Cold War. During that time, few wished to remember the regime of Chiang Kai-shek, which had been driven onto Taiwan or their American backers.

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Photos:China and the United States in World War II

Pausing on a street in bomb-shattered Tengchung, an aged Chinese civilian obtains a light for his cigarette from a U.S. Army sergeant October 14, 1944, who helped drive the Japanese from the ancient city.

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Story highlights

Mitter: Many in China are becoming resentful that the West fails to remember its role

China's refusal to surrender completely went a long way to slowing Japan's advance

China held down huge numbers of Japanese troops on its territory

Rana Mitter is professor of modern Chinese politics and history at the University of Oxford. His most recent book Forgotten Ally: China's World War II was named as a 2013 Book of the Year in the Financial Times and the Economist. The views expressed here are solely his.

(CNN)On Thursday, there will be a major parade in the heart of Beijing, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia.

But relatively few will remember a historical fact that underpins the ceremony: China was the first country to enter what would become the Second World War, and it was the ally of the United States and the British empire from just after Pearl Harbor in 1941, to the Japanese surrender in 1945.

Yet today, China's memory of the war is becoming more, not less, important, as we move further away from it.

And many in China are becoming resentful that the West fails to remember that China was itself a significant player in the eventual Allied victory.

What if?

Some 14 million Chinese died and up to 100 million became refugees during the eight years of the conflict with Japan from 1937 to 1945.

Rana Mitter is a professor of Chinese history and politics at the University of Oxford.

But overall, was the Chinese contribution to the war really so important? Consider a "what if" scenario.

On July 7, 1937, a clash between Chinese and Japanese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge, just outside Beijing, led to all-out war. A year later, by mid-1938, the Chinese military situation was desperate.

Most of eastern China lay in Japanese hands: Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan. Many outside observers assumed that China could not hold out, and the most likely scenario was a Japanese victory over China.

Nonetheless, China's leader, the Nationalist Chiang Kai-shek, along with his unlikely allies, the Communists, refused to surrender, retreating inland to carry on resistance.

This decision changed the fate of Asia.

If China had surrendered in 1938, Japan would have controlled China for a generation or more. Japan's forces might have turned toward the USSR, Southeast Asia, or even British India.

The European and Asian wars might never have come together as they did after Pearl Harbor in 1941.

First to fight

For the Nationalists and Communists, the war had begun in 1937 and they had been, in their own words, "first to fight."

It was true that China's armies were weak, but many of the best troops had been sacrificed in major battles such as Shanghai and Xuzhou.

China felt it was being asked to bear the burdens of a major ally without the finances or resources that the U.S., Britain or even the USSR could call on.

To be clear, China could not have won the war on its own. The defeat of Japan was dependent on western, and in particular, American finance, military support and supplies (although western ground troops did not fight in China). The Allies had to husband their limited resources, and it was reasonable to put Europe first.

But acknowledging these realities does not mean denying that China's contributions were also very important to the war effort. China held down huge numbers of Japanese troops on its territory.

It acted as an example to other non-Western countries, showing that it was possible to fight with the west and still strongly oppose imperialism (Chiang Kai-shek tried to persuade the Indian nationalists, Nehru and Gandhi, actively to back the war effort, although he was ultimately unsuccessful).

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German troops march through occupied Warsaw, Poland, after invading the nation on September 1, 1939, and igniting World War II.

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German Chancellor Adolf Hitler speaks to Nazi party officials in 1939, the year of the German blitzkrieg into Poland. Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium soon fell under German control. When France came under occupation less than a year later, Britain was the only remaining Western European nation fighting the Third Reich, and the United States had not yet entered the war.

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In Asia, Japanese troops occupy a strategic point on Chusan Island on July 14,1939, during the Sino-Japanese War. Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in 1940, formally allying with Germany and Italy, and by 1942 most of the Asian Pacific Rim had come under its domination.

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German soldiers on the Esplanade du Trocadero view the Eiffel Tower. In June 1940, German troops marched into Paris, forcing France to capitulate and establish the pro-Axis Vichy French government.

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British Hawker Hurricanes fly in formation during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The planes were a first line of defense against German bombers attacking England. The battle, fought between July 10 and October 31, 1940, was the first major battle to be won in the air. The Royal Air Force's victory thwarted Hitler's plans for invading Britain.

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Smoke rises behind Tower Bridge during the first mass daylight bombing of London on September 7, 1940.

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Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, left, with Hitler, center, and other leading Nazis, visits Germany during the war. Italy and Germany formed an alliance before the outbreak of war, but Italy remained a non-belligerent until June 10, 1940, when it declared war on Britain and France. Fighting spread to Greece and North Africa.

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German tanks and infantry attack Soviet positions on the Eastern Front. On June 22, 1941, Germany broke its Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union, launching the bloodiest theater of the war. Though the estimates vary greatly, Russia suffered the most war casualties of any nation in World War II -- as many as 13.8 million military deaths. Estimates of civilian deaths from military action, crimes against humanity, starvation and disease are as high as 9 million.

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A view of U.S. ships in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. The USS West Virginia and USS Tennessee are in the foreground. The attack destroyed more than half the fleet of aircraft and damaged or destroyed eight battleships. Japan also attacked Clark and Iba airfields in the Philippines, destroying more than half the U.S. Army's aircraft there.

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U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941. Italy and Germany immediately declared war on the United States, and on December 11, Roosevelt signed the U.S. declarations of war against those nations.

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British prisoners of war leave Hong Kong for a Japanese prison camp in December 1941.

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Anti-aircraft fire glows over Algiers during a night raid on November 23, 1942. In 1942, the Allies stopped the Axis advance in North Africa and the Soviet Union.

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Black smoke rises from demolished buildings after Japanese air forces attacked the U.S. Navy base on Midway Atoll during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The four-day battle became a major victory for the U.S. Navy, which sunk four Japanese aircraft carriers, and it marked a turning point in the war in the Pacific.

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Balloon operators from Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force, or WAAF, report for inspection in a hangar used to store balloons, at a facility in the UK. During World War II, women played a significant role in the war effort. They took jobs in "defense plants and volunteered for war-related organizations, in addition to managing their households," according to the World War II museum in New Orleans.

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British troops land near Algiers, Algeria, during Operation Torch in November 1942. Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of Vichy-held French North Africa, and marked the first major action by the Western allies against the German army.

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Soviet soldiers advance against the German army during the Battle of Stalingrad. The battle for the city on the Volga River (present-day Volgograd) was a major defeat for Germany and a turning point in the war. The battle lasted more than five months, ending in February 1943, at the cost of at least 160,000 German soldiers killed or captured. However, even conservative estimates of Russian casualties are much higher.

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German prisoners captured at the beachhead of Anzio, Italy, leave a landing craft on their way to a prison camp in 1944. The amphibious landing and ensuing battle helped Allied forces break a months-long stalemate south of Rome and ultimately defeat the Germans in Italy.

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French refugees live in a quarry near Fleury sur Orne. During the bombing in that area, 20,000 refugees lived in the quarries.

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U.S. troops assault Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. On D-Day, Allied forces landed on five beaches -- Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword -- taking the first step in establishing the Western Front in Europe. The landing included more than 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes and 150,000 soldiers. More than 35,000 Allied troops were killed during the Normandy Campaign, which lasted till the end of August 1944.

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A crowd gathers to cheer Gen. Charles de Gaulle at the Place de la Concorde on August 26, 1944, a day after the liberation of Paris.

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Soldiers of an infantry division move into the mist over a snow-covered field near Krinkelter, Belgium, on December 20, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, a surprise German counter-offensive against Allied forces as they closed in on German soil from the west. It resulted in more combined U.S. losses (nearly 90,000 killed, wounded or captured) than any battle of the war.

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U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945. Strategically located only 660 miles from Tokyo, the Pacific island was essential to launching land-based bombers against Japan. It was the bloodiest battle in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps, which suffered more than 27,000 casualties. Of some 18,000 Japanese soldiers defending the island, 216 survived.

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German prisoners captured at Friedrichsfeld march through a town in Germany after the crossing of the Rhine River by the U.S. 9th Army on March 26, 1945.

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From left, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Russian Premier Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference on February 1945.

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Prisoners line block 61 of Buchenwald concentration camp in April 1945. The construction of Buchenwald started July 15, 1937, and the camp was liberated by U.S. Gen. George Patton's troops on April 11, 1945. Between 239,000 and 250,000 people were imprisoned in the camp. About 56,000 died, including 11,000 Jews.

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral procession goes down Connecticut Avenue on its way to the White House. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia, just weeks before Germany's surrender.

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Harry S. Truman takes the oath of office on April 12, 1945, as he becomes the 33rd president of the United States. Standing beside him are his wife, Bess, and daughter Margaret.

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The bodies of Benito Mussolini, left, and his mistress, Clara Petacci, second from left, hang from the roof of a gasoline station after they were shot by anti-Fascist forces while attempting to escape to Switzerland on April 28, 1945.

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Russian soldiers wave their flag, made from tablecloths, over the ruins of the Reichstag in Berlin on April 30, 1945. That day, as the Soviets were within blocks of his bunker at the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler committed suicide.

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British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses the celebrating crowds from the balcony of the Ministry of Health in Whitehall, London, on V-E Day, May 8, 1945. The war in Europe was officially over.

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Soldiers rush an injured U.S. Marine from a battlefield during the Battle of Okinawa in June 1945. The battle, the bloodiest of the war in the Pacific, raged for nearly three months and heightened U.S. concerns for the enormous casualties that could be anticipated in the planned invasion of Japan's main islands.

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A photograph on display at the Bradbury Science Museum shows the first instant of the first atomic bomb test, on July 16, 1945, at 5:29 a.m. at Trinity Site in New Mexico. The Potsdam Declaration, announced 10 days later, called for Japan's unconditional surrender, threatening "prompt and utter destruction." It did not, however, specifically mention the bomb.

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Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., center, stands with the ground crew of the B-29 bomber "Enola Gay," which Tibbets piloted on August 6, 1945. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, that day killed an estimated 130,000 people.

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A patient suffering severe radiation burns lies in the Hiroshima Red Cross hospital in August 1945. Many of those who survived the initial blast on August 6 died of severe radiation-related injuries and illnesses.

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A dense column of smoke rises more than 60,000 feet into the air over Nagasaki, the result of an atomic bomb dropped on August 9, 1945. An estimated 60,000 to 70,000 were killed in the Nagasaki blast. Six days later, a little after noon local time on August 15, Emperor Hirohito's announcement that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration was broadcast on radio. Japan had surrendered.

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A jubilant American sailor kisses a nurse in New York's Times Square on August 14, 1945, as he celebrates the news that Japan has surrendered. (Because of the time difference between the two nations, the surrender occurred August 15 in Japan).

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Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, officially bringing World War II to an end. Overseeing the surrender is U.S. Gen. Douglas McArthur (right, back to camera).

Forgotten story

Much of this story was forgotten in the West and China during the Cold War.

Few wished to remember the regime of Chiang Kai-shek, which had been driven onto Taiwan by Mao Zedong's Communists.

In Mao's China, the Communist Party had little interest in providing any space for positive reflections on the wartime contributions of their Nationalist enemies.

Only from the 1980s, when the Cultural Revolution had been discredited, and a new source of nationalism was needed, did the Chinese authorities allow a more broad-based reassessment of the war, rehabilitating the contribution of the Nationalist government and the troops who had fought for it.

Today, China has explicitly embraced huge swathes of its war history that remained taboo during much of the Cold War.

It has been explicitly stated that Communist and Nationalist veterans will both be honored during this year's ceremonies.

Yet there are also signs that the memory of the war will be used to make a case for changing geopolitics in the region.

China is increasingly resentful of the U.S.' role in Asia, arguing that if American contributions to the defeat of Japan in 1945 entitle it to a continuing presence in the region, then China's own sacrifices also grant it a role.